MovieChat Forums > The Mindy Project (2012) Discussion > Not a realistic portrayal of single moth...

Not a realistic portrayal of single motherhood

posted 9 years ago by snowdoodles
13 replies | jump to latest

She's a single mother, juggles a full time job as a doctor, and has the time to go on dates and have a social life? Give me a break. I'm not saying women can't do it all, but not addressing the difficulty of managing all these things is an injustice to mothers everywhere. I'm aware that she's probably rich and can afford decent childcare, but it's like they made her have a baby as a simple plot device and then completely forgot that she has to be a mother to him. Sorry Mindy Kaling, I didn't think I could have any less respect for you. You had an opportunity to address some serious issues that women everywhere face, yet chose to take the shallow route as usual. Don't even get me started on her representation as a minority and her wannabe-white features, that's already been discussed tirelessly so I won't contribute anymore.

[–] LHartz 9 years ago

She shares custody with Danny, so yes, she does have free time. But of course, you're right, this is fictional and not meant to be too realistic. It's a comedy, not a drama.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] OhhHello 9 years ago

The baby is probably with Danny or Danny's mom 3-4 days a week and Morgan babysits for her often. It's a comedy about a shallow, self-centered woman. What do you expect? This is a very realistic lifestyle for a bad mom. Has the baby even turned one yet?

[–] Kollaaa 9 years ago

She's a good mother for sharing custody.

[–] bkerber 8 years ago

The one thing I like about this show, once I finally understood it was how they use typically tropes of TV sitcoms. They take advantage of them for their own purposes and still laugh at them. This is something you see all the time - woman has a baby and then once they've had the one or two 'ohmigod I have to change his diaper, isn't it hilarious?' episodes, you never see the kid again. I think Mindy project can get away with it because they've done this kind of thing before. The show is aware that it's not realistic and it's not supposed to be.

[–] verucasalt23-1 8 years ago

That's what I thought. Where I live, a lot of people have moms like Annette who are perfectly willing to completely raise their children. Mindy has Annette AND Danny and probably a nanny. It's like what she said about rich women having choices. No, it is not a realistic portrayal of what it is like for a TYPICAL single mother. But then, neither is Mindy's wardrobe or dating life.

"Arguing with trolls is like playing chess with a pigeon . . . ."

[–] yamahamama 8 years ago

Thank goodness it's not a realistic portrayal of MY single motherhood. It was not funny. Food stamps, crappy car, putting myself through college, trying to type (yes, on a typewriter) term papers in the library with "mommy, mommy, mommy", going on constantly. Having the plumbing in the crappy rented single-wide mobile home freeze in the winter.

So not the stuff of a sitcom.

[–] noel66 8 years ago

You must hate "Friends."

[–] Mikrili 8 years ago

No. It's a comedy. It's not meant to be a realistic portrayal of anything. Its' meant to be funny.

[–] whyclose 8 years ago

There's nothing realistic about this show.

[–] bkerber 8 years ago

The only comedy I saw ever do this properly was Sex and the City. They showed how tough it was for Miranda to manage a baby and her job as a lawyer. They had several episodes focused on that. And then they showed that she had help and often made mention of where the baby was when she was not with him. In the first season after she had him, they had a few episodes where Miranda had to miss out on the stuff they normally did because she had a baby at home - and how the other three didn't really understand that.

[–] libraesque63 8 years ago

Jesus Christ this is a COMEDY, how can you not realize that it's not her job to address serious issues that women everywhere face. Why is that her job? Oh, I know, because she's a female writer? GET REAL
Go watch something like Once and Again

"People who live within their means suffer from a lack of imagination" Oscar Wilde